UTILIZATION OF LAND USE DATA TO IDENTIFY ISSUES OF CONCERN RELATED TO CONTAMINATION AT SITE 050 OF THE MID-CANADA RADAR LINE

Abstract

Abstract / Resume Abandoned Mid-Canada Radar Line (MCRL) stations in northern Canada are remnants of the Cold War. Since these stations were not properly decommissioned, contaminants (e.g., PCBs and lead) have entered the environment surrounding these sites. The first MCRL site to be remediated was Site 050 on Anderson Island. Remediation of this site was given priority because of its proximity to Fort Albany First Nation (FN) and the high levels of PCBs in soil (up to 21, 000 ppm; >50 ppm is considered hazardous waste) found on site. Data collected in the present study supported the hypothesis that Fort Albany FN residents have been exposed to contaminants originating from MCRL Site 050. Les stations de la ligne de radar centre canada (LRCC) abandonnees dans le Nord du Canada sont des vestiges de la « guerre froide ». Etant donne qu'elles n'ont pas ete adequatement declassees, des contaminants (BPC et plomb) ont ete absorbes dans l'environnement autour des sites. Le premier site de la LRCC a faire l'objet de mesures correctives a ete le site 050 sur l'ile Anderson. Le retablissement du site a recu la priorite en raison de sa proximite a la Premiere nation de Fort Albany et des niveaux eleves de BPC dans le sol (jusqu'a 21 000 ppm, alors que plus de 50 ppm indique la presence de dechets dangereux). Les donnees collectees pour la presente etude soutient l'hypothese selon laquelle les Autochtones de Fort Albany ont ete exposes a des contaminants provenant du site 050 de la LRCC. Introduction After the test of the first Russian-made atomic bomb in 1949, the Pinetree Radar Line was constructed at approximately the 49th parallel as a joint Canadian-American effort to provide warning of a Soviet nuclear attack (Myers and Munton, 2000). The successful test of a Soviet hydrogen bomb in 1954 heightened the need for the early detection of a Soviet attack across the shortest route (the Arctic region of North America) to populated, industrial centres of the USA (Huebert, 2000). Although there was no overt physical confrontation between the two superpowers, relationships were strained between the USA and Russia; this political climate was referred to as the Cold War. In this political environment of increasing concern with respect to a nuclear strike, two radar lines (using manned and unmanned stations) north of the Pinetree line were conceived and built during the 1950s. The Distant Early Warning (DEW) Radar Line and the Mid-Canada Radar Line (MCRL) would give earlier warning of a Soviet nuclear strike than that of the Pinetree Line, allowing time for the deployment of American aircraft to intercept any Soviet bombers (Myers and Munton, 2000). The DEW Radar Line consisted of 63 stations stretching from Alaska to Greenland at approximately the 70th parallel. The DEW Line was primarily an American effort with 42 stations being built in the Canadian territories (Northwest, Yukon, Nunavut) (Myers and Munton, 2000). The DEW Line was replaced by the automated North Warning System during the mid-1980s (Myers and Munton, 2000). The MCRL or McGill Fence consisted of 98 radar stations (eight manned and 90 unmanned) that stretched from Dawson Creek, B.C., to Hopedale, Labrador, at approximately the 55th parallel (Environmental Sciences Group [ESG], 1999a; Thorne, 2003; Wilson, 2003). The MCRL was an entirely Canadian undertaking because it was believed that one authority would result in fewer delays and lower cost (and also avoid Canadian funding of the more costly DEW Line; Canadian Cabinet Defence Committee, 1954). The MCRL would allow detection of Soviet bombers between the altitudes of 300 feet to 60,000 feet using the doppler principle, basically a trip-wire system (Canadian Cabinet Defence Committee, 1954; Thorne, 2003). The MCRL was fully operational in 1958 and closed in 1965 (Thorne, 2003; Wilson, 2003). Fifteen MCRL stations were located in Ontario, Canada: three manned sites at Winisk (Site 500), Cape Henrietta Maria (Site 415), and Fort Albany (Site 050); and 12 small, unmanned stations (ESG, 1999a). …